Chapter Eleven.

"Move that teddy bear to the table with flowers." Bonnie ordered Phillip. "Then Kelvin, the balloons are okay."

"No more balloons, babe?" Kelvin asked, his eyes dancing with laughter.

Bonnie shot him a look that said she knew what he was doing.

Since they arrived at Rose shop, Bonnie had been bossing them around, ordering them here and there. Although, with three men trying to put up decorations for a proposal, her bossing around was much needed and much welcomed.

Bonnie walked away from the counter from where she had been ordering them from, moved to the door and eyed the baby breaths, the carnations, the daisies and the red and pink roses that formed a arched around the white teddy bear. "I think you guys did good."

"Alright." They gave themselves high fives.

"Now we wait for your beloved to come."

Last week, after he and Rose had settled their fight, he had told Bonnie that he had wanted to ask Rose to marry him again, this time not on the basis of a seventeen year old contract, but on the basis of their love for each other. Jonnie had called him a wise man and had volunteered herself and Kelvin to help out with the decorations. Phillip was recruited that morning to join.

The rattling of keys caught their attention.

"She is here." Bonnie whispered.

He swallowed, hard. His palms grew sweaty. His heart began to pound.

It was outrageous for him to be anxious. He was confident that she would say yes...won't she?

The door knob turned. Kelvin handed him the black velvet ring box. The door opened. He went down on one knee. Rose stepped inside, her eyes widening in surprise - if he were not so anxious, he would have laughed at her facial expression - her keys dropping to the floor.

"Rick."

He smiled. "Rosie Ann Hokins."

That made her smile.

"You are the love of my life. My best friend. You kept me going when all I wanted to do was bury my head in grief and mourn, and everyday you keep me going. Rose, I don't want to spend the rest of my life without you. I don't want to walk you to your door with me turning around anymore. I want to walk into my house with your laughter welcoming me. I want to wake up every morning to your beautiful face. I want to kiss you deep onto the night and have children with you then watch them grow and marry and have kids that will be our grandchildren. I want to have the pleasure of calling you Mrs Rose Walton, my heart thrilling at the fact that you are mine forever. Rosie Ann Hokins, will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She ran to him.

Standing up, he caught her, lifted her off her feet and spined her around. His laughter mingling with hers, he opened the ring box. She extended her ring finger and he slipped the simple golden wedding band adorned with small stones on it.

"The ring was mom's." He whispered.

She looked at the ring, her eyes shining bright. "It is so beautiful."

"You are so beautiful."

She smiled. "And I am yours."

He cupped her face and kissed her with every iota of affection pounding in his veins. Applause rose from behind them.

Rose looked over his shoulder, her mouth rounding in surprise and her face turning pink. She buried her face in his neck. "I didn't know we had an audience!"

Rick chuckled. "They are all friends."

"I won't hear the end of it from Bonnie."

"Come on, I am not that bad." Bonnie spread her arms wide. "Congratulations, honey."

Kelvin shook him and bumped shoulders with him. "Congratulations, bro."

"Thank you. And thanks for the help."

"It was nothing."

Phillip shook his hand. "Now you are officially off the market."

"And it feels so good."

Bonnie came over and hugged him. "Congratulations, Rick. You did it."

"Yeah, I did. Thank you. For the advice. For your help. For everything."

"You are absolutely welcome. I should say, take care of my friend, but I have no doubt that you will."

"I will."

Bonnie smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Alright, boys, let's leave the love birds alone."

"Thanks." Rose mouthed to Bonnie.

"See you all later." Bonnie waved at them.

Rose curved her arms around his neck. "Hello, Rick."

"Hello, Rosie."

"Guess what, Rick?"

"What, Rosie?"

"The guy I am absolutely crazy about asked me to marry him."

"And what did you say?"

"I said yes."

"Ouuu, so you are engaged now."

"Yes I am, to the craziest, most amazing, most handsome man in the world."

"I think he is the luckiest man in the world to have you."

"I like to think him the most blessed."

"That he is."

Raising herself on tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his. He circled her waist, drew her closer and deepened the kiss.

******

"They will take it very well." She assured Rick.

"I have a feeling that your dad's jaw would literally drop off his face."

She giggled and rang the bell. "Of course, he would be surprised bit not to that degree."

Her dad opened the door and smiled at them. "Rose, Rick. What a pleasant surprise. Come on in."

She gave her dad a hug as she walked in. "Good evening, dad. How are you?"

"Been good." Her dad kissed her hair.

"Where is mom?"

"In the garden."

"Okay, I'll go get her."

"How are you, Rick.?" She heard her dad ask Rick as she turned into the kitchen. She opened the back door and stepped into her parents' well tended garden.

"Hey, mom."

Her mom looked up from her weeding and smiled, the skin beside her eyes crinkling with joy. "Hey, honey. It's a good surprise to see you. How are you?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Weeding." Her mom stood up and walked to her, her arms coming around her in a motherly embrace. Her mom kissed her hair. "Let's go in."

After further pleasantries were exchanged, she spoke. "Mom, Dad, can you both sit down. Rick and I have something to tell you."

"Is anything wrong, honey?" Her mom asked.

"No, it is actually a thing of joy."

"What is it?" Her dad asked.

"Well." She and Rick exchanged looks. "Rick and I are engaged to be married."

If surprise had a face, her parents faces were it.

Rose expected them to be surprised at the news, shocked even, but not to this degree.

"Um, uh." Her dad glanced at her mom. "If the both of you are happy..."

"And in love." Her mom cut in. "Are you in love with each other?"

"Yes ma." Rick replied, glancing at her. "Madly in love."

"Can I ask how?" Her mom asked. "Because I remember when I asked you when you were fifteen if you liked Rick, you vehemently said no. And even when you both were exchanging letters, you never gave the impression that you liked Rick."

"Where do we start?" She looked at Rick.

"From the beginning, the contract."

And so, they spent the next one hour explaining to her parents how she and Rick had written a contract when they were ten to marry each other if they were not both married by twenty five; how Rick marched into her shop with the seventeen year old contract and asked her to marry him; and how he spent the rest of the days wooing her to say yes.

At the end, her parents shocked faces had dissolved into smiles.

"To honest, I did not expect to fall in love with my best friend. But he was persistent." She exchanged sappy smiles with Rick. "And he won my heart."

"Awwn." Her mom's face shone with glee. "That is so sweet."

"Well." Her dad started. "It is clear you are both in love with each other. Who are we to say no; you have our blessings." Her dad stood up and spread his arms wide for a hug. "Congratulations dear."

She stepped into them. "Thanks Dad."

Dad shook Rick's hand. "Take care of my daughter, Rick."

"Yes sir, I will. With all that I am, I will."

"Let's celebrate." Her mom clapped her hands.

Mom chased them all to the kitchen where they all prepared the greatest feast of all time: barbecued steak, potato casserole, strawberry pie and sundae.

"Man, I am full and I am beat." Her dad stretched. "I'm going up to the room. You coming, Julie?"

"Right behind you, Jack." Her mom closed the photo album they had been going through, gave it to her and stood up. "Goodnight, lovebirds."

"Goodnight, mom. Goodnight Dad."

"Goodnight ma. Goodnight sir."

She ran her hand across her parents wedding photo album. "So full of memories."

"And stories." Rick came closer to her, circled his arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her hair. "One day, a day so close, we shall have a book like this."

"And one day, a day not so far away any more, we shall both sit and laugh and cry over the stories they would tell." She threw her head back, looked into his eyes and whispered "I love you, Rick."

He kisser her nose. "I love you too."

She tucked her head on his chest, contentment flowing through her veins.

Thank you Lord.

"Rosie."

"Yeah."

"Remember Eric, the Eric I told you about."

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Remember I told you that he asked me to see him."

"Yeah." She looked at him. "And you said you were going to tell me about what you guys talked about, but you didn't."

He nodded. "Well, he asked me to see him to offer me a job."

"Okay, what kind of job?"

"Not a dirty one." He grinned. "He runs a speedboat business. Rents them. Sells them. He has three establishment here in Chicago. He wants me to manage one. The pay is really good and its outdoor."

"Did you accept it?"

"Not yet. But I am considering taking it."

"Why?"

"Well, for starters there is a wedding on the way. Then after we get married, I become the head of the home meaning I have to be financially stable. Then there would be kids and preschool and kindergarten and elementary school and high school and college."

"You have really thought this out."

"Yeah."

"But do you like the job?"

He shrugged. "It is not that bad."

"That is not the answer to the question I asked, Rick. Do you like the job? Will you enjoy waking up every day to go out to sell and rent speedboats, six days a week, four weeks a month, twelve months a year? On and on till you're fifty?"

He paused. "No. I think it will run me nuts."

"Remember the Incredibles? Remember how Bob turned out miserable in his job after all superhero activities were shut down? I do not want that to be you, Rick. Remember the movie, She We First Met? Noah said something to Avery the night they first met. He said it is not a job when it is something you love doing. You will never age doing the job you love. When the stress comes, you would not even think twice about it because everything about the job is what you love, is what you enjoy doing."

"I thought you said movies and reality ate two far apart entities."

"Well, someone taught me that fiction reveals the truth reality obscures." She caressed his cheek, his five o' clock shadow rough against her palm. "What do you want to do? What do you enjoy doing?"

"Apart from kissing you and holding you?"

She grinned. "Yes, apart from kissing me and holding me."

He bit his lower lip. "Back in camp, I started writing a novel to pass away time and to keep my mind off a lot of things..."

"Okayy." She nodded for him to go on.

"It is still a rough work, I have not even picked it up since I was discharged..."

"Yes, I will read it."

He smiled. "What would I do without you?"

"A lot, but not too much."

They chuckled.

"I will read it tomorrow and then we find an editor then a publishing house."

"Whatever you say, smarty pants."

******

Rick felt he was going to run mad with anxiety as he watched Rose read the last page of his story.

Finally she closed the last page. Letting out a long, soulful sigh and hugged the book to her.

"How is it?" He asked.

"So beautiful! Rick, how come you never told me you could write?"

"I discovered it when I was in camp, my fourth posting, and I didn't think it was something."

"It is something, a huge something. You write beautifully, Rick."

"Thank you."

"What do you want to name it?"

"Guns Down."

She smiled. "Nice. Now, all we have to do is find an editor."

"Then a publisher."

"And then we are good to go."